Thursday, Delta Air Lines took contractual delivery of their first Airbus A350 in Toulouse, France. The aircraft, N501DN, is the first A350 delivered to an airline in the United States. (airwaysmag.com) Plus d'info...

Please remember that there is no such thing as an American or European (or Japanese or Chinese, for that matter) plane. These planes are made up of major components made all over the world. Every time you get on an Airbus or Boeing, you're seeing the same general family of engines, avionics, interiors, lavs, landing gear, windows, and even paint.

It seems that most of the readers here seem to think the Boeing airplanes are made in the good 'ole US of A. They'd be surprised by the high content of foreign made components. For instance, most of big pieces of the 777 come from Japan. Why do you think that Boeing has a fleet of Dreamlifters to move large aircraft components around?

Well done Delta for having chosen the impressive Airbus A350. They obviously did their homework well. My wife and I flew on A350's when travelling to Singapore earlier this year, and were rather impressed with the aircraft. This Airbus A350 has one of the quietest cabins in the skies, where the typical ambient noise level in the cabin is about equal to the volume of a normal conversation. It also has the tallest ceiling of any commercial aircraft and huge overhead bins. On the A350 every passenger can travel with a carry-on bag of maximum dimensions and find ample stowage space. This even improves on the A380 where my wife’s normal carry-on bag could not fit into the stowage space provided when you are seated upstairs. With the A350 also having a slightly wider cabin width than the Boeing 787, it provides economy-class passengers with slightly wider seats. This extra shoulder room adds up to extra comfort on long-haul flights.Leon Kay,South Africa

The quietness of the cabin is definitely to the credit of the manufacturer.

The space you get in the interior, including seat size and pitch, overhead space, number lavs, etc. is dependent on what the airline ordered. You can take a perfectly beautiful plane and cram it over-full to the point of make it a miserable ride. Alternatively, you can overhaul the interior of an old MD80 to make it quite comfortable (and if you are well forward of the tail engines, it's a very quiet ride).

Delta says Airbus years of innovative engineering. Remarkable hoe they are late to the came with the plane and when Airbus launch the plane sit it side by side with the B787 and they look remarkably alike. including the wings that lift as they gain speed.

Don't you think that Delta in this example, choose a product for it's specifications, and not price? Meeting the needs of the consumer is more important than just throwing products out on the market and hoping someone will buy them. Then to cry foul after the fact is unrealistic.

I'll never ride any of them, I'll pay more to ride another Airline on Boeing Equipment. I have never liked Airbus planes I have only ridden when the company make my reservations and I can't make changes.

I am not a 'fan' of any airframe, be it Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, Bombardier, or Cessna. I hold no bias when it comes to flying, they are all the same, getting me from point A to point B.

It would be illogical to expect a company to not choose a supplier based on their specific requirements. And price, while important, is not always a deciding factor. Any company (or consumer for that matter)who chooses products ONLY on the basis of price alone, is NOT a very successful operation.